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Author
Topic: Another new guy - FREMONT/Bay Area (Read 6448 times)

I officially took the test a couple weeks ago and I tested positive. I'm so scared and overwhelmed at times, and haven't had the courage to open up to anyone I know. I'm hoping to use this forum and this site to share my experience and all the craziness that's going on inside my head. It's SO scary, I don't know how to approach the future. But I try to take a deep breath and realize that at this very moment, I am alive.

My general practitioner is in Fremont, CA - Kaiser. I haven't told the news yet... I tested at an anonymous clinic. Does anyone know of any good specialists to go to through Kaiser? or anywhere else in the Bay Area.

I am sorry for your recent diagnosis, but glad you found this site. I think you will find it a font of support and knowledge - not to mention a great bunch of people.

Let me say the first year, more or less, after testing positive is an emotional rollercoaster. The fear you say your experiencing can be overwhelming at times. I think pretty much everyone goes through this in one way or another.

Let me just say that things will get better. You will adjust and learn that HIV doesn't define you, but it has become a part of your life.

Just take it one day at a time. One good way to start is to read the lessons here.

For the record, Peter (the founder of this site) and I tested positive the same year - 1985. We're still around, as are quite a few others. I mention this to show you that life does go on and a long, bountiful life is certainly possible.

As for your question regarding Kaiser, I have never used them myself, but I have heard good things about them. Others here do have Kaiser, so maybe they will chime in with info.

Living in the bay area should provide you with a good number of doctors to choose from.

The bottom line is to just take a deep breath, try to relax, start informing yourself and come here and ask all the questions you like.

i wrote this just a couple hours ago and am glad to have gotten the response from a couple people. i really do feel alone but am believing that this site will help me deal with my new life. thanks for the words. i look forward to hearing from more people.

no i haven't done the confirmation test yet. i took the test a couple weeks ago but got he nerve to get the results last week. i haven't talked to a counselor yet, it's a little overwhleming at this point. i'm still dealing with the idea of who to tell, or even if i should as of now...

You do need to have your anonymous postive result confirmed before you continue posting in this forum. You will need to have another ELISA done and followed up with a Western Blot to confirm a positive. Please read our HIV Testing Lesson.

There is a possibility that you have had a false positive. The only way to know is through further testing, which you can most likely have done at the same place you went to before.

Let us know how it turns out. In the meantime, hang in there. If you have further questions about confirmation testing, please return to your thread in the Am I Infected forum.

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

I am sorry to hear that you tested positive and welcome to the forum.I am in the bay area too and we are lucky because we have wonderful doctors in our area.I choose to see a gay doctor who has been in practice since the early days of the epidemic. I love my doc. He's seen it all and he is not just and HIV doctor but also a family practitioner. I like going to him because, unlike specialist, he doesn't miss a thing.He takes all insurances from what I can tell, but I'm not sure if it works for Kiser.You probably have so many questions, I remember how overwhelming it is when you are first diagnosed.Stay strong, let us know if you have questions.You can also IM me, if you want to talk more. I work in Milpitas very close to the Great Mall and McCarthy Ranch.

Rich(who still gets sad when he meets the newly poz)

Logged

POSITIVE PEDALERS... We are a group of people living with HIV/AIDS, eliminating stigma through our positive public example.

I am with Kaiser, I'm happy with the ID doctor I was referred to, and I think they have no problem if you ask for a gay friendly doctor or say you prefer a male or a female GP. I was tested by my Kaiser GP, so things went fast from there. I would believe that they will want to test yourself again at their labs. I feel in very good hands. Don't hesitate to PM me too if you have questions about Kaiser. And I think it's the best in the bay area, the new center that opened in cupertino looks pretty good.

Do not be scared. Just go to have a confirmation test done (WB) to make sure you either have it or not. If you do not have it, then thanks God. If you have it, is not a death sentence anymore. I have been HIV poz since 2005 and the first two months were a nightmare. Then I started reading a lot scientific articles and understood it better. Since last year I started a clinical study where everything is free and in less than 2 months I was undetectable. Surprisely this month my CD4's went from 590 to 970 in less than two months. I eat well, do not drink alcohol, and workout regularly. Sometimes I even forgot i have HIV. So do not be scared. Good luck in your next lab and hope everything is OK

I'm from Fremont. And I'm with Kaiser. I have some great references for you if you need them. I got seriously ill with PCP 4 years ago and by all rights I should be dead. But my Dr. made all the right moves, knows all the right stuff and brought be back from the dead. I now live in Red Bluff, CA, 200 miles N. of the Bay Area but I have so much respect for my Dr, it's worth the 4 hour drive to see her every 3 months.

Take your reconfirmation test and if it comes back positive I can help you with counselors and Dr and addresses and phone numbers...you name it.

Thank you everyone who's been offering gread advice and comfort. I'm in southern california right now and so I was trying to see what's the best course of action interms of insurance, medical advice, and the other multitude of questions I have. The past couple weeks have been overwhelming for me. It seems unreal at times and then other moments, I feel bogged down my trying to plan my future. I always as if what I'm doing now is worth it? Is there a purpose now? I'm not entirely positive about the whole situation but I know that you guys have really helped me out tremendously.

I'm going to try to take the confirmation test within the next couple weeks. I probably should do it now but my way of coping with it all is to consume myself with work and school. I need to take a deep breath.

Thank u to everyone, especially my Bay Area peeps. it makes me feel good to be from there.

I'm in socal, in San Diego, and happy with Kaiser down there. Well how is your relation with your current primary physician? You have two solutions here. Either make an appointment with your physician and tell him or her that you tested positive, and he or she will do the confirmation tests and then make a referral to a specialist if you are confirmed positive, or, you can just call the Kaiser help line and explain the situation, and if you would prefer talking to an HIV specialist first, they can do that. But you need your confirmation test, even if your guts tell you that you are positive, the test is necessary, as there are false positives with the basic Elisa test.

You need to take a deep breath and get your appointment done as soon as possible. Waiting is going to make you think more than necessary! Why change your plans for the future? Oh yes, add a bookmark to this website, and apart from that go on with your life

I am with Kaiser, I'm happy with the ID doctor I was referred to, and I think they have no problem if you ask for a gay friendly doctor or say you prefer a male or a female GP. I was tested by my Kaiser GP, so things went fast from there. I would believe that they will want to test yourself again at their labs. I feel in very good hands. Don't hesitate to PM me too if you have questions about Kaiser. And I think it's the best in the bay area, the new center that opened in cupertino looks pretty good.

Milker.

The new Kaiser is actually in Santa Clara. I am recently diagnosed (last year) and I go there. I would agree the care is pretty good.